October marks beginning of heating assistance

Qualified households can begin signing up for heating assistance from today until May 15th. The program is administered by the Department of Administration’s Energy Office, and sign up is taken care of by each county’s social services offices.

The Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program, known as WiHEAP, helps about 277,000 households pay their heat bills. There are income guidelines for the program based on household income, household size, and the home’s heating costs.

You can contact your county’s heating assistance office to find out if you’re qualified. They also have a toll-free phone number and a website that can answer many questions. The phone number is 866-HEATWIS (432-8947).